Coalway Community Infant School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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James Barrow Interim headteacher Coalway Community Infant School Coalway Road Coleford Gloucestershire GL16 7HL

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Community Infant School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 19 March 2025, on behalf of His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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Community Infant School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school's key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school's progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school's previous graded inspection.

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Community Infant School

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders, curriculum leaders, governors and the local authority the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic. I also visited a sample of lessons, reviewed some pupils’ work and reviewed strategic planning documents. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Main findings

There have been significant changes since the last inspection. You, and the interim deputy headteacher, were appointed on an interim basis in February 2025. Since then, you have expanded the senior leadership team to strengthen the leadership capacity. The school has experienced difficulties in recruiting staff, including a special educational needs coordinator. There has been a reduction in pupil numbers resulting in changes to the class structure and the introduction of mixed-age classes. The governing board has been strengthened with the addition of four new governors in January 2025. There is also an interim chair of governors.

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Main findings

The school has begun to make improvements to the quality of education. Improvements in reading and phonics have been prioritised. The school has used external support to en- sure a focus on staff training. There is now greater consistency in the teaching of phonics. This helps pupils to improve their reading skills. The school has developed its checks on pupils’ reading accuracy and understanding. These checks identify where pupils need fur- ther help so that interventions are quickly put into place. Some of these improvements are in their early stages and it is therefore too soon to evaluate their impact. The school has, rightly, prioritised the development of writing as a next step. It understands that this will provide pupils with a foundation for writing across the curriculum.

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Main findings

Across the wider curriculum, the school has identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn. In some subjects, new systems for checking what pupils know and remember are used to identify where there are gaps in pupils’ understanding. The school is beginning to remedy these gaps by making adaptations to the curriculum in those subjects. However, this is not yet in place across all subjects. There is more to do to ensure that teachers are confident to use assessment information so that all pupils’ needs are met fully and that they learn the curriculum well. The school recognises that further improvements to curriculum and pedagogy are needed to ensure that the wider curriculum is well sequenced and well implemented.

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Main findings

The school has made improvements in early years including strengthening the early years curriculum. There has been a focus on developing children’s language and the early years environment. However, these improvements need to be fully embedded to ensure that children are well prepared for their next steps.

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Main findings

Leaders have prioritised the right actions to improve the school. However, there is a need for greater clarity about some of the actions identified for improvement and the timescales of planned changes. Without this it is difficult for leaders to assess accurately the impact of their work in a timely way.

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Main findings

The school recognises that many improvements are currently in their early stages. Governors take an active role in assuring themselves that the actions the school is taking will bring about the necessary change. However, this work is in its infancy. While governors share school leaders’ vision, many governors have only been in post for a short time. Their ambitions are therefore not realised. The school’s work on behaviour is having success. You have worked with staff to ensure that there are shared high expectations for behaviour. The school has implemented systems which are consistently followed. As a result, the school is calm and orderly. Pupils understand what is expected of them and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. Disruptions to learning are minimal. The school has begun to ensure that behaviour practice is adapted to meet the needs of all pupils. You are keen to build on this further.

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Main findings

The school has worked closely with external advisors and the local authority. The school is receptive to the advice and feedback it receives.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of governors, the Department for Education's regional director and the director of children's services for Gloucestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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